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Bullet Wound Neighbor
Location: Ackworth, Iowa Date: May 12, 1994 Story On the afternoon of May 12, 1994, in Ackworth, Iowa, eight-year-old Jeannie McAllister and her nine-year-old brother, Andrew, went next door to play with their friend, Andy Neil, on his family's farm. At around 6:20pm, his stepfather, Steven Mantalbam, returned home from work. "I live on a farm. I've got horses, cows, cats, chickens, and ducks. We've been having a lot of trouble with dogs killing our chickens and ducks. The last people who lived next door their dog killed 15 or 20 chickens," remembers Steven. He saw one killing his chickens and grabbed a rifle. "I was shooting behind the dog. I wasn't trying to kill it. I was trying to scare it," said Steven. All of a sudden, he accidentally shot Jeannie and Andrew ran over to help her while Andy called Steven for help. "I was scared when the bullets came because I thought I was the one who was going to get hit," said Andy. "My son came out of the A-Frame screaming. I was just in a panic. I thought I had shot my boy," said Steven. Jeannie had been playing in the shed with Andrew. He was going to run and get help, but instead remembered from a TV show about helping people stop bleeding, took off his shirt, and put it close to Jeannie's chest where he saw bullet holes. "I love my sister and I didn't want to see her die," said Andrew. Steven's wife, Barbara, had been next door and could hear Andy scream that Jeannie had been shot and called 911. "I couldn't believe it was happening. It was just a nightmare enfolding right in front of my face. But it was real. She was shot," said Steven. Jeannie kept telling him, "I'm going to die," and he told her that she wasn't. He felt guilty and ashamed when he saw that she was shot in the side of her chest. Barbara ran over with towels and could see that Jeannie was in pain. "Here's this little bitty girl. She's so sweet and so frail. The second bullet had gone into her back. My biggest fear was that it could have gone into her spine. I couldn't think of a more horrible thing for a little girl then to be paralyzed for the rest of her life," said Barbara. Jeannie's mother, Emmigy, rushed over as soon as she heard what had happened. "It was very frightening to see a bullet hole." said Emmigy. Steven called 911 and told the dispatcher that an air flight would be better because they lived so far out. Warren County sheriff's deputy Gene Coon arrived within eleven minutes. "When I saw the wound in her chest my concern screwed. There was a possibility that her lung was injured, her heart was involved, and that she could possibly die," said Sheriff Coon. "I did not let myself think about her dying. But in my heart I was so scared to death. I was afraid that she would be taken," said Emmigy. A Pleasantville volunteer medic unit led by EMT Chad Bennett arrived. "The first thing that goes through my mind is what happened and a child that young doesn't deserve to be shot," said Chad. "It just tore my heart out. I would have traded places with her because she was so scared," said Emmigy. Steven handed the gun over to Sheriff Coon and told him to take it because he was so hysterical and did not want to look at it or see it. "People should think before they shoot. There were three children that could have died that day and he will have to live with that for the rest of his life," said Sheriff Coon. Jeannie was transferred to an airline helicopter and taken to Mercy Hospital Medical Center where she was examined by trauma surgeon Dr. Richard Toon. "We did not know whether she could die at any time. We treat every patient that way when they arrive in the trauma room," said Dr. Toon. They realized that the bullet had entered her spine and needed to take an X-ray of her chest. Dr. Toon showed the X-rays to Emmigy and explained that the bullet has missed her spine by just a quarter of an inch and realized that if it had been a quarter of an inch she would have been paralyzed. "Because the bullet in the leg was so accessible we very quickly took it out with a single stitch. The one in her spine would cause more damage to take it out than to leave it in," said Dr. Toon. Jeannie was heavily sedated but tightened her grip on Emmigy's hand. "She starred and said, 'Mommy,' which was the most beautiful sound in the whole world," said Emmigy. During Jeannie's recovery, Steven went to visit her at the hospital. "He said, 'I'm very very sorry that I shot you.' I forgive Steven because it was an accident. He didn't do it on purpose," said Jeannie. "Steven was emotionally shattered by this as much as Jeannie was physically shattered," said Emmigy. A month has passed. Although Jeannie is still suffering back pain she's expected to fully recover from her injuries. "I thought that I was really gonna die. If I had one thing to say about the people who saved my life I would say, 'Thank you for saving my life,'" said Jeannie. Her family have become friends with Steven, Barbara, and Andy instead of blame being put out and love and support. "Everytime you pick up a firearm you're taking a risk of shooting yourself, shooting another person. Firearms are dangerous. I don't want to deal with someone else getting hurt," said Steven. Category:1994 Category:Iowa Category:Shootings Category:Gunshot Wounds